Yukio Mishima

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Lore & Background

Yukio Mishima was born Kimitake Hiraoka on 14 January 1925 in Nagazumi-cho, Yotsuya-ku of Tokyo City. His early childhood was dominated by his grandmother Natsuko, who separated him from his immediate family for several years, did not allow him to venture into sunlight or play with other boys, and took him to his first Kabuki play—The Treasury of Loyal Retainers—when he was 13. At age 12, he returned to his parents; his father Azusa employed extreme parenting tactics such as holding young Mishima close to a speeding steam locomotive and raiding his son's room for evidence of an 'effeminate' interest in literature, while his mother Shizue supported and protected his writing. Mishima attended the elite Gakushūin school from age six, became the youngest member of its literary society editorial board, and adopted his pen name in 1941 after his debut work Forest in Full Bloom was published in Bungei Bunka magazine. The name 'Mishima' came from Mishima Station, and 'Yukio' from the snow on Mount Fuji. His mentor Hasuda Zenmei praised him as 'a heaven-sent child of eternal Japanese history' and entrusted 'the future of Japan' to him. Mishima's works include the novels Confessions of a Mask and The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, and the autobiographical essay Sun and Steel. According to author Andrew Rankin, Mishima's work is characterized by 'its luxurious vocabulary and decadent metaphors, its fusion of traditional Japanese and modern Western literary styles, and its obsessive assertions of the unity of beauty, eroticism, and death.' From his mid-30s onwards, his far-right ideology and reactionary beliefs became increasingly evident: he extolled the traditional culture and spirit of Japan, opposed Western-style materialism, Japan's postwar democracy, globalism, and communism, and worried that the Japanese people would lose their 'national essence' (kokutai) and become a 'rootless' people. In 1968, Mishima formed the Tatenokai ('Shield Society'), a private militia for the purpose of protecting the dignity of the emperor as a symbol of national identity. Scholars interpret the Tatenokai as attempting to reclaim Japan's prewar values of loyalty. On 25 November 1970, Mishima and four members of his militia entered a military base in central Tokyo, took its commandant hostage, and unsuccessfully tried to inspire the Japan Self-Defense Forces to rise up and overthrow Article 9 of the 1947 Constitution to restore autonomous national defense and the divinity of the emperor. The incident ended with Mishima's suicide by seppuku, which had been planned.

Reader's Guide

Yukio Mishima remains a controversial figure in Japan due to his far-right political activities and his dramatic death. His literary legacy is significant: he was a major postwar stylist of the Japanese language, nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature in the 1960s—including in 1968 when the award went to his countryman and benefactor Yasunari Kawabata. His works—such as Confessions of a Mask and The Temple of the Golden Pavilion—are noted for their luxurious vocabulary, decadent metaphors, fusion of traditional Japanese and modern Western literary styles, and obsessive assertions of the unity of beauty, eroticism, and death. Mishima's political beliefs, which included opposition to Western materialism, Japan's postwar democracy, globalism, and communism, led him to form the Tatenokai militia in 1968. His attempted coup and suicide by seppuku on 25 November 1970 were intended to inspire a restoration of autonomous national defense and the divinity of the emperor. Scholars interpret the Tatenokai as an attempt to reclaim Japan's prewar values of loyalty. Mishima's life and work continue to provoke debate about the intersection of art, nationalism, and violence.

Did You Know?

• Mishima's pen name was coined by his teacher Fumio Shimizu and editorial board members, taking 'Mishima' from Mishima Station and 'Yukio' from the snow on Mount Fuji they saw from the train.
• His grandmother Natsuko was a granddaughter of Matsudaira Yoritaka, making Mishima a descendant of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
• Mishima's father Azusa once held him up close to the side of a speeding steam locomotive as a form of discipline.
• Mishima was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times in the 1960s, including in 1968 when the award went to his countryman Yasunari Kawabata.
• On 25 November 1970, Mishima and four Tatenokai members took a military base commandant hostage and attempted to inspire the Japan Self-Defense Forces to overthrow Article 9 of the constitution, ending with Mishima's planned seppuku.